Replacement
by Erriel
Summary: No one ever wants to lose a best friend. But then, what happens to the one who takes their place? POV of a young Clefairy seeking acceptance.
1. Part One

**Replacement**

* * *

"And stay out there, you stupid, clumsy thing! Don't you dare try coming back in here, ever again!"

My ears rang as I fell from the doorstep, hitting my head on the snow-covered cobblestones below. As I staggered to my feet, the slam of a door sounded behind me. Wincing in pain, I leapt to the door and pawed desperately at its slick surface. My only answer was the noise of retreating footsteps.

Reluctantly, I crawled away from the door, shaking bits of snow from my fur and hugging my body for warmth. I stayed in that position for several minutes, keeping my eyes closed all the while. As if my eyelids alone could hold back the wave of tears that threatened to overcome me. 

A shudder escaped me as the top of the sun sank below the horizon, casting the entire yard into complete darkness. The brisk night wind hissed mockingly as it blew past, chilling the skin beneath my thick pink fur. 

It was going to be another long, cold winter night for me.

Shifting uncomfortably in the icy air, I twisted my neck around and lifted my arms, examining for new bruises and other injuries. The throbbing of my head, however, made it hard to focus on any one thing.

_"Ah, Minna," _came a distant voice from the other side of the yard fence. _"Ah, Minna, your Human didn't beat you again, did she?"_

Easing myself from the doorstep, I made my way across the gleaming white lawn, paws crunching into the day-old snow as I went. Craning my head up, I could just discern the looming shadow of the old oak tree that marked the end of the yard. Its bare branches twisted grotesquely into the grey sky, shuddering as the wind barreled violently past.

Looking hastily away, I reached the fence at last and put my face to a gap between the wooden slats. 

_"Shadow?" _ I said softly. _"Shadow, is that you?"_

The clanking of an old, rusted chain answered me. _"Present and accounted for, young Clefairy," _the voice replied in its usual rumbling tone. I took a step back as a large wet nose thrust itself through the fence slats, taking a long, deep sniff.

_"I smell blood, young Minna," _the neighbor's old Houndour watchdog intoned as it withdrew its nose. _"Surely you didn't let that young slip of a Human get the upper hand of you, again?"_

I managed a faint smile, even though I knew Shadow couldn't see my face from the other side of the fence. The two of us Pokémon often had similar conversations at night. The first day I'd been thrown out of the house, Shadow had been the one who'd heard me crying, and the one who had whispered comforting words through the fence. Over time, I had come to treasure Shadow's presence on cold, lonely nights like these. 

_ "Kim and I were playing," _I explained patiently to my Houndour friend. _"We were playing with blocks, the kind you use to make towers and castles and things. Kim had just put the last block on the top of tower, and she was so happy that I couldn't help but cheer. And when I jumped up, I accidentally knocked down the entire tower." _I hung my head in shame, wringing my small pink paws despairingly as I did. 

Shadow's voice, when it came through the fence again, was skeptical. _"Your Human brat beat you up over building blocks?" _the old Houndour asked incredulously.

_"With building blocks, actually." _I corrected with a crooked smile. _"Those blocks don't look very heavy from a distance, but when they hit you all at once, they can really hurt."_

_ "And now you have to stay outside, bruised and bleeding in this chilly air, until Kim's parents find out and open the door for you?" _

I shifted uncomfortably at the harshness in Shadow's voice. _"I don't feel hurt that badly," _I protested defensively. Indeed, my skin had gone too cold and numb to feel much anything. _"Besides,_" I added as I blew on my frozen paws, _"you know I deserved it."_

The Houndour on the other side of the fence snorted. _"Because you accidentally knocked down a tower of playing blocks? Honestly, Minna. That Human brat of yours in a little monster. Do you hear me, young Clefairy? An absolute monster."_

_ "Don't call Kim that," _I said quietly. _"Kim's a good girl, at heart. A wonderful, wonderful Human. If only if I weren't so…so clumsy, or so dirty, or so stupid…" _I broke off as unwanted tears sprang to my eyes.

_"Don't believe those things your Human says about you, Minna!" _Shadow barked sharply, jangling the chain about its neck in agitation.

The tears rolling down my face turned to ice in the cold wind. _"Not even if they're true?" _I asked mournfully, swiping at the frigid streams of salty water. _"Shadow, face it. I'm a horrible, horrible Pokémon. I'm so weak I can't even use any attacks in battle. It's no wonder Kim misses her old Pokémon, Aimee, and, well, doesn't like me...so very much."_

_ "Aimee," _ Shadow repeated, scoffing. _"It's always Aimee, Aimee, Aimee with you! You've never even met this so-called Aimee for yourself, Minna, yet you act like this Pokémon's the greatest in the world. Well, I'll tell you something, young Clefairy. The perfect Aimee never came and talked to me like you do, Minna. No, sir! Whatever kind of Pokémon Aimee was, who knows! It surely wasn't a polite one!"_

I sniffed as I considered Shadow's words, then bowed my head solemnly. _"I like to believe Aimee is the best," _I said softly, but firmly. _"Else…I mean, why else would Kim be so…?"_

_ "Cruel to you?"_

_ "Stop saying those things about my Human!" _I cried, pounding angrily at the fence slat with my numb paws. _"Kim's not cruel! At least, not when I don't deserve her cruelty!"_

Shadow's disgusted sigh escaped it in a burst of hot air. I heard the rattle of its chain echo in the night sky long after the Houndour had trotted away from the fence.

Whenever young Kim recalled memories of Aimee, her first and favorite Pokémon, her eight year-old face would fill with loving radiance and her voice sweeten with deep affection. There was no doubt in my mind that Kim had loved Aimee not only as a Pokémon, but as a cherished best friend.

Whenever I cared to picture Aimee in my mind's eye, I never hesitated to pick images of great and powerful Pokémon. Perhaps Aimee had been a mighty Dragonite with a glowing hide and creamy belly, always ready to deliver a shimmering Hyper Beam in Kim's defense. Or maybe Aimee had been a fiery-spirited Charizard, its sweeping navy wings carrying both it and Kim, its rider, throughout the skies. Then again, Aimee could have just as easily been a graceful Ninetales, leaping agilely with its many lithe tails floating out behind it, or a majestic Lapras, sailing serenely across the seas. 

Whatever kind of Pokémon Aimee was, I knew it must have been something possessing greatness. Whether this greatness manifested itself in the form of strength, beauty, or regality was not of importance. 

Kim had loved Aimee with all her heart. According to Shadow, the two had spent years and years together, planning on conquering the Pokémon League as soon as Kim came of age. But when Aimee had disappeared only months ago, their dreams had been shattered.

I never understood exactly what had happened to Aimee; Kim's family was careful not to say a thing, and no matter how I prodded, Shadow refused to tell me. All I knew was that, one day, Aimee the wonder Pokémon was gone, and Kim was stuck with me, a scrawny little Clefairy that had never been trained properly enough to know any battle attacks.

I still remember the worn, desperate faces of Kim's parents as they stumbled into the Pokémon breeder's home and requested a new Pokémon for their little girl. Minutes later, a pair of hands had alighted on my shoulders and pulled me out of the playpen I shared with my Clefairy brothers and sisters.

"That one will do," Kim's mother had proclaimed as she subjected me to a quick glance. She managed a weary smile on my behalf as she took me in her arms. 

Mere minutes later, I was wrapped in a fluffy blanket and placed in the backseat of the family car. I had never been out of the breeder's house before, and anxiety surged in the pit of my stomach as the car rattled down the long road. But a part of me was reveling in excitement, exuberant at being chosen for whatever strange new adventure awaited me. 

When I had first seen Kim, staring petulantly out from behind her door as her parents brought me into the house, I had wriggled onto the floor and scampered eagerly towards her, paws outstretched for a hug. Kim's door slammed shut before I had a chance to reach her.

"Go away!" Kim had sobbed from within her room. "I'm never coming out, never, never, never!"

The smell of hot waffles the next morning, however, had Kim dashing downstairs, her vow of reclusion completely forgotten. She piled her plate high with waffles and doused them all with liberal amounts of syrup, most of which seeped into her shoulder-length brown hair.

From my spot on the floor below, the delicious aroma of food made my empty stomach growl. "Cle'fair air?" I had asked hopefully, calling up to Kim. She ignored me, and continued to shove food into her mouth at an alarming rate.

_ "Please, I'm a bit hungry, and I'd like some food. Just a little, if you would," _I had tried again, louder this time. 

Still Kim ignored me. I sidestepped as the little girl got to her feet, almost stepping on my tail as she did, and stared in disbelief. Kim acted as if she didn't see me at all, and indeed, that was how things proceeded for the next week or two. No matter how desperately I vied for her attention, Kim went on pretending as if I had never existed. 

"That new Clefairy of yours looks rather lonely, don't you think, Kimmie?" Kim's father asked one day, indicating my slumped posture. "Why don't you take it down to the park with you this afternoon? You and Aimee always had so much fun at the park together."

At this, Kim had flown into a red-faced rage. "No way am I taking that Pokémon!" she had screamed, pointing an accusing finger at me and stomping her foot. "Never, not in a million years! The park was mine and Aimee's favorite place! That horrible mean little Clefairy doesn't deserve to go _ there_!"

I had started up in surprise at Kim's comment. What had I possibly done that could be considered mean? I racked my brains for hours, but could not come up with a single thing. Finally, I decided that, since I had rarely played with her since my arrival, Kim must believe me to be cold and unfriendly. 

So I made a point of being with her every chance I got. I'd bring her freshly-picked flowers from outside and open my paws for a hug whenever she passed by. Sometimes, when Kim forgot to pick up her clothes or put away her toys, I took it upon myself to do it for her. 

"Maybe you'd like to take your Clefairy outside with you today," Kim's mother had suggested on many a beautiful fall day. "You two haven't been out in such a long time. You can play in the leaves together or go for a walk. Wouldn't that be fun, Kim?"

Hearing this, Kim would give me a kick under the table or viciously crumple the flowers I had given her. Her mother and father watched silently, eyes filled with a much greater sadness than mine. But they were always silent, as if any protest against their little daughter would hurt far more than the numerous bruises and cuts that now crisscrossed my skin.

It was a while before Kim finally acknowledged my presence around the house. Now that her denial of my existence had abated, Kim switched to calling me names and making faces at me whenever her parents weren't looking. More often than not, if I got too close, she'd give me a good kick and lock me out in the yard.

As a result, most of my nights, such as this one, were spent sitting out on that doorstep, wondering bewilderedly why Kim harbored such a great dislike for me. 

I never used the term "hate" for Kim's feelings, even in my thoughts. As much as Kim didn't like me, surely she couldn't hate me. Hate was too strong an emotion for a little girl like her.

Then again…

All the other complaints and criticisms Kim had yelled at me over the past months circled in my confused mind now, branding themselves sharply into my brain.

_ Stupid Clefairy! You can't do anything right, can you?_

_ There was never any Pokémon as ugly as you! Go crawl back under the rock you came from!_

_ You're not only ugly and stupid, you're useless, too! There's no way I'll become a Pokémon trainer now, not with an idiot Clefairy that can't even do a Metronome attack!_

_ Just get out of my sight, you worthless Pokémon! I hate you, I hate you, and I wish you'd never come here at all!_

I sighed dejectedly, huddling closer to the edge of the house as I did. When I first arrived, self-assured and confident, I would have never believed Kim's sullenly childish accusations. But now, it was already too late. Kim's horrible words had become me.

_ "I am nothing," _I said softly to myself as I tried to hold back my tears. _"Poor Kim must miss Aimee so much. Aimee must have been the best Pokémon ever. Powerful, beautiful, probably knew about a million attacks. If only I…if only I could…"_

Frowning, I wiggled my fingers a bit, swaying my body from side to side with accordance to a natural beat. _"Come on!" _I hissed to myself, trying to concentrate. _"Come on, I can do this! Metronome attack! Metronome, now!"_

Nothing happened. Clenching my jaw, I tried again, waggling my fingers even harder than before. It was all to no avail.

Disgruntled, I sat back on the step, my heavy breathing forming wispy white clouds in the icy winter air. One portion of my brain was calling out angrily, demanding why I had given up so quickly. The remaining, more logical part was scoffing at me for even trying. 

Pokémon couldn't learn new attacks without real battle experience, of which I had absolutely none. Trained Pokémon received experience from their many matches, while Wild Pokémon earned their hard-won skills from constant fights with rivals and predators. As a young Clefairy, born and bred only to be a house pet, I had never had a chance to develop my fighting skills. The idea of me trying to become a battling Pokémon was ridiculous! 

_ Giving up already, Minna? _whispered a nagging voice in the back of my head. _The perfect Aimee probably never gave up. Aimee wouldn't have quit trying to learn a new attack._

_ Especially not when it could make Kim happy at last._

Despite all she had done to me, there was nothing I wished more than to make Kim happy. Day in and day out, I held onto the faint hope that, if I could make Kim crack a smile instead of a scowl, she'd accept and love me at last. Kim, after all, was all I had now. My memories of the breeder's house along with my mother, brothers, and sisters had slipped away into the recesses of my mind long ago, leaving only Kim for me to hold onto. If only she could smile for me, just once.

_ It's not as easy as that, _I told myself sternly as I rubbed my paws together for warmth. _If I want Kim's love and respect, I've got to earn it fair and square. Just like Aimee had to do before me._

I knew that Kim's greatest dream, like that of most any child, was to become a Pokémon master. And she needed a strong starting Pokémon if she ever wished to succeed. 

With Aimee gone, that strong Pokémon had to be me. 

Blowing upon my chilled fingers, I wiggled my paws in order to bring blood back into them. Then, crossing my fingers for luck, I leapt down from the step and started towards the end of the yard. The fence loomed over me as I approached it. Squinting, I could just make out a large gap between of its two wooden slats. I had pinpointed this opening before as a potential hole to the outside world, but never had the nerve to try it until now.

Starting cautiously forward, I wriggled my side through the hole, yelping as the rest of my body fell through the gap and hit the snow on the other side. My vision swerved dizzily in and out of focus as I struggled to my feet, shocked by the enormity of what I had just done.

I had never left the yard before, not since my arrival at Kim's house. Adrenaline coursing through my shaking body, I looked briefly about to get my bearings. Most everything was obscured by darkness, leaving just menacing forms that I could only imagine the identities of. Gulping, I trotted nervously forward, searching for some sort of path to follow.

The light of a street lamp glowed faintly in the distance, catching my eye. It was this light that I dropped onto all fours and scurried after, leaving the safety of the yard and Kim's house behind me.


	2. Part Two

**Replacement**

* * *

_"You have got to be kidding."_

As I stared the sleek-furred Sneasel down, I felt my legs shake in fear, about to give way. With its black coat, which made it appear no more than another shadow in the darkness, and its long silver claws gleaming in the light of the streetlamp, the catlike Pokémon proved a formidable sight indeed. The Sneasel's glittering ruby eyes crinkled in amusement as I turned uneasily away, its expression made all the more ominous by the long scars that slashed over its eyelids.

_"I'm not kidding," _I answered, gulping. As the Sneasel shifted position, its sharp claws flashed in the light of the lamp. _"Just…just do it!" _I cried hurriedly. _"Please, just hit me! Once. I need to know…what it feels like."_

_"To have your head sliced in half like an overripe tomato?" _The Sneasel stared at me out of its bright red eyes, not blinking once.

The blow made contact before I even saw it coming. I was lying in the snow, only faintly aware of a pounding pain in my head, too stunned to even yell out in surprise.

_"Stupid Clefairy," _I thought I heard the Sneasel mutter as it stalked off.

Rubbing my head gingerly as I sat up, I felt a flood of tears pressing at the backs of my eyes. I had been wandering the sidewalks and streets for what seemed like hours, and my feet, now nearly frozen, ached from the night's long journey.

Over and over again, I had challenged various Wild Pokémon to battle me. Some simply laughed this request off, while others complied with a rough Tackle or a stinging Scratch attack. Always, I was too slow, or too clumsy, to fend off my opponent's attack, and I had all the bruises and scrapes to show for my efforts.

Each time I took an especially hard hit from another Pokémon, I wiggled my fingers in faint hope. But true battle experience, and the attack skills I coveted along with it, did not come so easily. Getting beaten up repeatedly by different Pokémon would get me nowhere. I had to actually start winning battles for my plan to work, which seemed like an impossibly unobtainable task!

_"Excuse me!" _I called out to a passing Pidgey. _"I need your help."_

Five minutes later, I was lying on the sidewalk, red peck marks dotting my body. Frustrated with my own inability to win even one battle, I shook hot tears from my matted pink fur. Shoulders slumped, and face wet, I started wearily down the road I had come. Back home to Kim, with her spite and criticisms and perpetual scowl.

The morning sun was well into the grey sky as I neared the house at last. Head still bowed, I came to the end of the footprint trail I had left in the snow last night.

_"Why did I think I could ever become a battler?" _I muttered, squeezing my body through the fence. _"Kim was right when she I was too stupid…too weak…too…" _But these moans and groans and bouts of self-pity would ultimately get me nowhere. Battling was definitely not my forte. But if I couldn't battle, then what _could_ I do to please Kim?

Looking about the yard, I saw a pair of small bootprints marking the snow, paired with the long tracks left by a sled. Kim had gone sledding today. Not, then, caring enough to go searching for me. Should I have expected any better? I gave myself a mental slap, disgusted at myself for being so pathetic. Disgusted at myself for wanting to give up so easily.

The faces of all the Pokémon I had met and fought the night before danced in front of my eyes, taunting me with their burning clarity. They were so clear in my mind's eye, in fact, that a nearby snowdrift reminded me of the plump Pidgey I had battled last. If it only had the same beady eyes, I mused to myself, they might have been nearly identical to one another.

_"I'm really losing it," _I thought as I used the tip of my paw to poke a pair of eyes into the mound of snow. Absentmindedly, I went on to carve a pointed beak, then a pair of stubby wings. By the time I had finished with a ruffled bunch of tail feathers, I was certain that the last of my sanity had disappeared, along with all the feeling in my fingers.

_But, _I thought as I stepped back to admire the lifelike quality of my snow sculpture. _It's not all that bad. It really isn't all that bad!_

Excitement welled up in my chest, making me clap my paws together in delight. Kim had always complained about how her parents would never let her onto the streets to see all the different kinds of Pokémon for herself. And if she couldn't see them out there, I could be the one to "bring" them to her own front yard!

Quickly, I set my eyes on a second snowdrift. With a few precise jabs and pats, it was transformed into a sparkling white Meowth, licking its paw with a small tongue. The neighboring pile of snow became a scruffy-furred Raticate. Giggling, I took several balls of snow in my paws, patting them together to make the round head of a Sneasel.

On and on I went, sculpting Grimer, Mankey, and many more in profusion. A shimmering ivory Growlithe took its place atop the house doorstep, a duo of stout Jynx flanking its sides. I even hung a flock of snowy sleeping Zubat from the fine icicles that had frozen onto the nearby bushes.

As the house yard was slowly transformed into a menagerie of snow-Pokémon, I smiled contentedly to myself. Kim would be sure to notice what I'd done. And when she did, maybe she would understand at last.

To seal my message, I made a small girl sitting cross-legged in the middle of the yard, a Clefairy in her lap. Both were wearing wide grins of joy.

I was waiting nervously when I saw Kim approaching, towing a small pink sled in one mittened hand. As she unlocked the gate and stepped into the yard, her jaw dropped down in surprise.

"What the…?" she managed, eyes darting about from one statue to another. Finally, they came to the sculpture of the girl and the Clefairy, the sculpture that I was seated anxiously in front of.

Slowly, as if in a trance, Kim took a step towards that statue. Her hood fell back as she did, revealing her rosy-cheeked face.

"Cle'fair?" I said with a hopeful smile as Kim came to stand in front of me. "Fair'air ree."

Before I had time to react, I was flying backwards in a shower of snow. As I struggled to my feet, amid the remains of my snow sculpture, I caught a glimpse of Kim's booted foot kicking in one snow Pokémon after another, sending shimmering white sprays of snow cascading through the air. Her red face was flushed not from the cold, as I had first thought, but from a savage anger.

"Why do you have to do this to me!" she screamed, stabbing at the snow and sending my Raticate's head flying. "Tell me! Why!"

_"I'm sorry!" _I cried out as Kim turned on me. _"I didn't know…I was only trying to…"_

Kim, of course, couldn't understand a word I said. "I'll make you pay for this!" she cried. Her next kick sent me crashing into the side of the fence.

I looked up in time to see Kim pull a small ball from her pocket. The object's round shape wove in and out of my swimming vision, elongating and shortening as I struggled to focus my eyes.

"Get over here!" Kim shouted at me. "Get over here, you horrible Pokémon!"

As my head cleared, I realized what she was brandishing in my direction. It was a PokéBall, was so shiny and new that Kim must have spent the last of her allowance to buy it just today. I took a step backwards, all my resolution dissolving. I had heard too many stories about the horrors of being trapped inside a PokéBall to keep up any semblance of courage.

"You tried to leave before, didn't you?" Kim cried, even as I shook my head in protest. "I saw you sneak out through the fence last night!" Her brown hair, held back in twin braids with ribbons, slapped against her bony shoulders as she ran forward to throw the PokéBall blindly in my direction. I ducked as it hit the fence with a loud crack and rebounded.

"Why couldn't you just stay out there where you'd gone!" Kim screamed, scooping the ball out of the snow. "Why did you have to come back and make me suffer all over again!"

_"I don't understand!" _I cried, leaping away as the PokéBall came again. _"I never wanted you to suffer, never! That's the last thing I ever wanted, don't you see! Please don't put me in there! Please don't!"_

The PokéBall bounced off the fence again, to Kim's extreme fury. "Get in the PokéBall where you belong!" she yelled. "You stupid, stupid Clefairy! It's your turn to suffer now, and you know you deserve it!"

_"Please, I don't know what you're talking about! All I've ever done was try to make you happy!" _

Though she could not understand a single word, my pleading tone was enough to give Kim the gist of what I was saying. "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about!" the little girl screeched. "Everything you've done, trying to take Aimee's place! Well, I won't have any of it! Not when you're the reason Aimee had to die!"

As Kim grabbed the PokéBall and flung it once again, I was too shocked to duck. The next thing I knew, the ball was opening and my paws were bursting into a flash of red before my eyes. Before I had a chance to resist, darkness surrounded my bruised body and drew me in.

* * *

Kim's fingers were freezing as she stomped into the hall and yanked off her mittens. Shaking flakes of snow from her braids, and blowing on her hands for warmth, she hung up her coat and headed into the kitchen.

"Did you have a good time sledding at the park, Kimmie?" Kim's mother called from by the stove, handing Kim a mug of hot chocolate as the little girl passed by. "You were gone for so long I was beginning to worry."

"I went back again after I came home the first time," Kim admitted, downing the hot liquid thirstily. "I took that new Clefairy with me."

Kim's mother smiled in relief. "It's nice to see that you and your Clefairy are finally starting to get along," she said, beaming. "Ever since Aimee died, I was afraid you might not welcome another Pokémon."

"The Clefairy ran away," Kim said with a shrug. "It was making these ugly snowmen and I knocked one down by accident and it got all mad and ran away. I don't think it'll be back."

Her mother's brow creased in alarm. "Don't worry, honey," she said quickly. "We can go back to the park and look for your Pokémon, or make some posters to put up around town."

"No!" Kim said, with a vehemence that surprised her mother. "I mean, the Clefairy obviously hates it here. There's no point in bringing it back. It'll just get mad and run away again."

"But, honey, it's the middle of winter. What if the poor thing freezes to death?"

Not bothering to answer her mother's question, Kim bolted up from the table and ran off to her room, slamming the door closed behind her. Sinking back onto her bed, she lay there for several moments before straightening and walking over to her dresser drawers.

A framed picture stand stood at the very center of the dresser's surface. Bending forward, Kim took this picture stand in her small hands and gazed down at the old photograph it contained.

In Kim's photo, a little brown-haired girl was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the grass, face illuminated by an exuberant smile. And in her lap was perched an elderly Clefairy. Despite its shrunken body and wasted limbs, the Clefairy's black eyes were sparkling in sheer joy.

"Aimee," Kim whispered, touching the Clefairy in the photograph with one finger. "Aimee, you'd be glad to know I got rid of that nasty new Clefairy at last. Stupid Pokémon, thinking that it could just waltz in here and be half as great as you."

She returned to her bed, still clutching the photograph. "You'll always be the best, Aimee, no matter what," Kim said, gazing at the Clefairy in the picture. "Mom and Dad never understood that. 'Wouldn't you like a new Pokémon?' they always asked me. 'Aimee's getting old now, Kimmie, wouldn't a nice, young Clefairy be better for you?' And I always told them no!"

Tears sprang to Kim's eyes as she went on, hugging the picture to her chest. "When Mom and Dad told me you'd been put to sleep, Aimee, it was the saddest day in my entire life," she murmured. "They said you were getting too old and sick, and just living was too much of a struggle for you. _They _said it was the charitable thing to do, putting you to sleep!"

Kim's eyes flared, and the tears burned her round cheeks. "But I know better than that!" she cried. "Mom and Dad, they thought getting a new Pokémon would be better for me. They never once thought about you. You liked living, didn't you, Aimee? I liked you living, too! We were together since the day I was born! And that new Pokémon just had to come and ruin it for the both of us!"

With shaking hands, Kim took the picture frame and set it gently back onto the dresser. "But I fixed things right," she told the old Clefairy in the photograph happily. "I made sure that horrible new Clefairy got what it deserved for coming here and trying to take your place."

A smile lighting up her small face, Kim thought of that PokéBall, now hidden beneath layers and layers of snow in the park. The PokéBall that wouldn't be found until spring, when all the snow had melted. Kim had dug through piles and piles of snow for nearly an hour in order to bury the ball good and deep. Though her fingers seemed frozen enough to shatter, Kim's leaden heart was warming at last.

"That Pokémon got what it deserved, alright," Kim said in satisfaction. Her angelically radiant smile bore surprisingly no rust from its many months of disuse. "If you were still here, you'd be proud of me, wouldn't you, Aimee?" Kim went on, her voice sure and strong. "I did exactly the right thing, didn't I?"

Despite its bright-eyed smile, the old Clefairy in the photo could not answer her.

* * *

_**In a PokéBall, deep underneath the snow…**_

It was cold there, in the darkness. Strange really, seeing as how I had no bones for the chill to seep into, no paws or ears to grow numb. The many particles that had once made up my body drifted separately about now, bobbing aimlessly within the PokéBall's confines.

_This isn't so bad, _I told myself half-heartedly as I floated inside the PokéBall. I no longer had any aching feet or stinging cuts. Indeed, I had nothing left of my old body, save for my own consciousness.

But even as I drifted there in the dark, I still felt inexplicably cold.

Kim had that said I was the reason Aimee had to die, I remembered with a hollow ache. Kim had loved Aimee with all her heart. I had once thought that she had lavished so much of her love on Aimee that there had not been any left over for me.

But now, I wasn't so sure. _Am I a murderer? _I wondered to myself, soul trembling at the very thought. The cold seemed to swell, wrapping my dispersed particles in its icy embrace. My mind drew in protectively, retreating into the blackness.

_No one will ever have any love for a murderer, _I thought numbly, weakly. _Has that been my fate all along? Have I spent so long reaching for something that could never be mine?_

_Maybe it's finally time to let go. I honestly don't think I have the strength to go on any longer. _

And as I sunk deeper and deeper into the endless darkness of the PokéBall, a prick of light appeared far overhead. To my amazement, the light was growing, growing into a streaming shaft of radiance that descended towards me in a soft, muted glow.

With a brisk snap, my scattered particles jumped back together, reforming my old body. I held my arms in front of me in amazement. All the bruises and scrapes that once marred my skin had vanished completely, and all the coldness I'd felt had been dispelled by a surge of pleasant, gentle warmth. Awed, I looked up into the light that had healed me.

A weathered old Clefairy was suspended in the middle of that miraculous light, its fluid, graceful movements belying its grotesquely withered limbs. _"Minna," _it said in a soft voice as it glided serenely forward. _"Minna, I've been wanting to meet you for the longest time."_

_"Who…who are you?"_

The old Clefairy smiled benevolently. _"My name is Aimee, Minna."_

_"Aimee!" _My mind gave a mental cry of distress, accompanied by a burst of surprise upon meeting Kim's old Pokémon at last. _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…that is, I never knew I…"_

_"Hush now, Minna," _the old Clefairy whispered, putting a paw to its mouth. _"You have done nothing to be ashamed of. I hold none of what Kim has said against you." _

_"Thank you," _I replied numbly. _"But wait, you can't be…aren't you…?"_

Shaking its head from side to side to quiet me, Aimee extended a shimmering paw in my direction. _"Would you like to come with me, Minna?" _the withered Clefairy asked gently. _"I can take you to a wonderful place. A beautiful place with all kinds of Pokémon and people. Pokémon and people that would love to meet you."_

_"I would like that very much, Aimee. Very, very much."_

Nodding, the shining Clefairy took my paw, leading me out of the darkness and into the blindingly glorious light.

* * *

_**My thanks goes to the nameless reviewer, Moonlit Shadow, and Eika for their kind encouragement!** __This fic was originally inspired by the arrival of Advanced Generation/Houen League. Sure, there's going to be things I'll miss, but from what I've seen, Season 6 looks like it'll be rather interesting in it's own right! ^_^ _


End file.
